


Self Maintenance

by fluffsies



Category: The Dark Crystal (1982), The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (TV)
Genre: Bathing/Washing, Domestic Fluff, M/M, No Smut, Nudity, Old Married Couple, Suggestive Themes, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-28
Updated: 2019-11-03
Packaged: 2021-01-03 14:17:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21180821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fluffsies/pseuds/fluffsies
Summary: skekGra let’s himself go sometimes, getting absorbed in his work, but urGoh is there to help him - or himself - get back on track. Whether he likes it or not. (urGoh takes care of his husband)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Finally!! Fluffly writes some pure fluff! :D buuuuut I could always add a second, raunchier chapter if push comes to shove, and if you guys want to see urGoh take even more care of skekGra hehe ;) But anyway! I needed to write more intimate and heartwarming things about our grandpas! The mystics' floppy ears are based off of an old concept drawing from the first movie floating around somewhere on tumblr that I saw, and I write skekEkt/urUtt as trans, thus urGoh using she/her pronouns when referring to her!

“You... stink.”

skekGra stopped in his tracks as he walked past urGoh, turning back, brows cocked and feathers ruffled out.

“What?! How could you say such a thing?!” he squawked.

“You... smell... terribly,” urGoh remarked in a serious tone, “when... did you... last-“

“What, bathe?! I don’t remember - what does it matter! I’m almost done with this set, I’ve only got three more backdrops to design!” skekGra screeched, waving his hand dismissively as he turned and hurried away.

urGoh sighed, prepping himself physically with a drag of his pipe before hoisting himself up, off of his seat with a groan. He had known this day was coming soon again, as it did once every unum or so.

skekGra had been putting off bath time for weeks now. The two usually bathed together. skekGra would dig his talons in urGoh’s scalp just the way he liked, and urGoh’s four strong arms were able to hold the fidgeting skeksis down and scrub him better than he claimed to have done himself. But lately, an already disrobed urGoh would walk into the workshop, only to be waved away by a mad skeksis absorbed by his work.

“I just have one more seam to close, I’ll go wash myself after that!” he would say, and urGoh would shrug it off, left to a cold and lonely bath. He soon realized that without skekGra’s help, he would end up pruned from sitting in the water too long.

urGoh also happened to notice that he’d been going to bed alone most nights. He would shuffle into a dark workshop, lit only by one candle, skekGra hunched over his desk.

“Dear...? Are... you... coming to-“

“One more thing, urGoh! I will come after I finish this one last detail!”

But urGoh would drift off, alone in a sea of blankets, before the skeksis came. When he woke in the mornings, the skeksis was already - or still at - his desk. urGoh would sometimes wake in the middle of the night to bony arms encircling him from behind and a grisly mug nuzzling into his hair, but on other nights, he wasn’t sure the skeksis slept at all.

urGoh also noticed a distinct lack of skekGra’s robes in the pile when it came time to wash, and the same robe mysteriously still appearing on his body every single day.

He had enough - an actual odor lingering off of the skeksis drew the line. He grabbed his staff and began shuffling to the workshop, where he knew the skeksis was held up in.

“skekGra-“

“Look at this, urGoh! Isn’t it just wonderful?! But it’s missing something, I know it is!” skekGra cut him off, holding up a painted backdrop of oranges and reds. He flung the fabric back onto his table and sat back down, hunching over it.

After a long moment, urGoh made a low, frustrated noise in his throat. skekGra’s feathers raised, and he looked back, “oh, I’m sorry, urGoh! Did you need something? I’m a bit busy at the mo-“

“No... you are... not,” urGoh said.

skekGra was taken back a bit, cocking his neck back, “I am! You see that I am, do you not?!”

“Not... anymore,” urGoh stated plainly, putting his staff down and walking towards the other. skekGra yelped, flailed wildly as he was hoisted over urGoh’s back and pinned there by his extra arms, “urGoh what has gotten into you?!”

“You... listen... to me,” urGoh said firmly, squeezing skekGra who stopped wiggling against him.

“What! What is it, make it quick so I can continue!”

“No... you... have not... bathed... eaten... slept... or washed... your... robes... in a unum,” urGoh said gently, beginning to walk out of the workshop. skekGra started wiggling again, “no, no, no! I’m fine - I’m almost finished!”

“You... matter... more... than... your work,” urGoh stated in a rather raised voice.

He felt skekGra tense, then practically melt against him with a sigh, defeated. “...will you at least let me walk on my own? You are much too slow to get this done quickly,” he said quietly, mumbling voice vibrating against urGoh’s back.

urGoh lifted skekGra back up onto his feet but grabbed his hand and arm with two of his hands, “this... isn’t... getting... done... quickly. You will... take... your time... and... do it.... correctly.”

skekGra growled but complied.

The Heretic stood naked with his arms crossed, tapping his foot impatiently as urGoh undressed himself slowly. He already removed his robes, scrubbed them thoroughly - feverishly - against a washboard, and placed them to soak. urGoh placed his robes to soak as well, ushering skekGra to their bath.

Since the Circle was connected to the Breath of Thra, a grove of lush greenery, it provided the two with their source of fresh water without having to even venture out of their home. urGoh grabbed a bowl of ground herbs and scents from a nearby shelf they built onto the rock wall and poured it into the natural pool formed in the rock, lowering himself into it. He sighed, swimming to the deep center and sinking down up to his nostrils. Water provided urGoh with relief from the harsh weight gravity has ensued on his legs and back over so many trine. He extended his stubby legs below him, kicking lightly to keep afloat, swishing his tail lazily. He bobbed lightly as the water disturbed, skekGra slinking in next to him. While the pool was deep, the water level only reached skekGra’s chest at his full height. If urGoh stretched out his body and placed his feet on the bottom, only his snout would peek above the surface. skekGra waded over to the other, running his hands over the urGoh’s back, enjoying how the mystic’s satisfied rumble rippled the water around them.

urGoh barely had time to gasp as his eyes were engulfed in water and his world turned on its end. He realized, after 2 full rotations, that skekGra was spinning him around like a log in a river. He wiggled furiously, splashing water all around as skekGra screeched. urGoh’s thick mop of hair clung to his head, “you’re... _that_... mad?”

skekGra giggled devilishly, “I was just trying to get your hair wet. Come here.”

urGoh doggy-paddled over to the skeksis, placing his hands on his shoulders for balance. skekGra leaned over to grab a bar of soap – which they made by hand, carefully selecting what scents they desired – and began scrubbing the mystic’s locks. urGoh grabbed two bars of his own and, planting his feet on skekGra’s knees, began scrubbing rather hard at the Heretic’s skin, especially his armpits, scraping and washing off dirt, dead skin, and dried sweat. Thra, he let himself go.

When it came time for skekGra to rinse the soap from urGoh’s hair, he simply planted his hands on the mystic’s broad back and dunked him under. urGoh surfaced with a cough and sputter, spitting water up at the skeksis face.

The pair washed each other, urGoh beginning to hum lowly. It was routine and intimate, loving and considerate. urGoh soaped up the feathers on his head, and skekGra jolted as his thumb came too close to the nail imbedded in his skull.

“A-Ah…” the skeksis gasped.

“I know…” urGoh cooed, rubbing away from the old wound.

Truly, an old wound it was – a mark that forever told their story and bonded them together in trauma. In the early days, skekGra would pick at it incessantly, causing it to bleed and burrow deeper. Now, the skin had grown back around it, as did the bone. The nail was sealed to his body, moreso like a horn now. But the scar tissue still itched when touched, and if the skeksis scratched it, they would both have to deal with the migraine that ensued.

Rather than having one turn around to wash each other’s backs, they pushed their chests together in an embrace, circling their arms around to do so. They laid their heads on each other’s shoulders. urGoh scrubbed between the spiky scutes with two hands while his other set of hands played with skekGra’s other set, permanently tied together behind him. He relished having the tiny hands grab at his large fingers, sometimes forgetting that skekGra could even still move them.

skekGra batted him away when he tried to wash his private area, and urGoh gave him a sassy look.

“…really? … I know… what’s… down there… better… than you do… at this… point”

“Thra knows how much you like being down there, but I can do this part myself! I’m not a childling!” he screeched, rubbing furiously between his legs and under his tail.

“You… better… clean… it well. You… sweat… there… the most,” urGoh remarked, dunking beneath the surface. skekGra screeched as his feet were grasped and hoisted up, throwing him off balance. He grasped the side of the pool with his other set of hands, eyeing urGoh nastily as he surfaced, to which the mystic chuckled.

skekGra sighed as urGoh massaged his feet, pushing deep into his heel as he washed his intimate area and abdominal folds.

“We’re… going to… have to… trim… these,” urGoh wiggled skekGra’s toes, holding them up for him to see.

“These as well,” skekGra held his talons out in view, “I’m starting to grow Aughra-fingers.”

skekGra used the edge of the pool to hoist himself up, sitting on the edge to help lift urGoh out as well. skekGra squealed when urGoh shook water off of him violently like a fizzgig. He did have to admit, though, the mystic’s hair did look funny afterward.

skekGra wiggled as he was dried. One set of urGoh’s arms ruffled his hair in a towel, and the other tended to his body and gangly limbs. The frizzy feathers on his head, neck, and chest puffed out around him like a wispy aura. urGoh kissed him on the tip of his beak and handed him fresh towels for his turn.

The skeksis rubbed the towel against him fast and hard, having to be told to slow down or he’d start to peel skin off along with water. When the mystic’s body was dry, skekGra squeezed his hair out once, twice, and still had to wrap the long, dripping mane in a towel. Having his hair up exposed urGoh’s long, thick neck, and skekGra made sure that his long, floppy ears – usually hidden amongst his forest of hair – hung free from the towel. Said ears were currently being chewed on by a certain skeksis.

“Stop… that! You… know… they’re… sensitive” urGoh squirmed, pushing at skekGra as he walked.

“Well, this is to be expected when you hide them from me so much, a shame that is,” he giggled, holding the ears out and waving them about.

The pair clothed themselves in plush, cottony nightgowns, and skekGra wriggled around in the fabric, remarking that he had forgotten the pleasures of fresh clothes against skin. urGoh led the skeksis to their lounge room, and skekGra sat cross-legged on a pile of pillows.

He hummed when he was embraced from behind, surrounded by warmth and a rumbling voice, "I am... glad... you don't... stink... anymore." He felt urGoh kiss up and down his neck, and his tongue lolled out in bliss, leaning back into the bulk.

“Well, you have officially buttered me up, urGoh – what’s next on your agenda?” skekGra purred, holding his neck up to the ceiling, eyes closed.

“Hands… out,” he heard urGoh murmur, weight shifting around to his front, and he obeyed. He felt large, warm paws hug his own, and urGoh began cleaning beneath his talons carefully. He saw the mystic’s snout wrinkle judgmentally as he scraped old, dry paint out. skekGra huffed, leaning forward to gently peck and preen urGoh’s face with his beak as he worked. The skeksis’ talons were then trimmed and filed, but on the last digit, the mystic jerked and botched the job. He grunted angrily and glared at the skeksis from the side, who gave a mischievous look as a floppy ear hung from his beak. urGoh repeated the same treatment on his toenails, while holding the now grumpy skeksis’ head with his second pair of hands.

“Lean back… against… me,” urGoh murmured, now kneeling behind him, “sit… perfectly… still.” skekGra knew there was no playing around then, so he relaxed against the large girth at his back. His fluffy hair and feathers were combed together, and urGoh clipped a bit of its length off. While skeksis hair was fair and sparse, skekGra was healthier than the average large, angry bird, and his hair grew at a normal rate. If not managed, like it hadn’t been in a unum, it had the potential to become matted at his neck and chest.

urGoh brushed away what he removed, “all… done.”

“Alright, now it’s your turn,” skekGra turned and grabbed the towel at urGoh’s head, but the mystic, at his peak speed, pinned the skeksis’ wrists down onto the nest of pillows, peering down above him.

“_No_.”

“It’s only us here! After all these trine, you still don’t trust me?!” skekGra whined.

“I have… seen… a shorthaired… mystic,” urGoh grunted, letting go of skekGra and shuffling away, “that fate… will not… befall… me.”

“_Really_?” skekGra shot up, leaning forward and placing his chin on his hands like an excited childling, “do tell – which mystic was it? What happened?”

urGoh started telling his story, but did not stop walking, and skekGra pouted as he had to get up and go after him. urGoh, while gathering root vegetables from their pantry, explained that the mystics once all had short hair upon the day of their separation, and the hairdo suited their tall, slender forms. Now, however, their old, bent and pudgy bodies were complimented by the thick, long curtains.

“urUtt… wanted to… try it, so… she… asked… urSu… to help,” he said, starting a fire below their cauldron, “I… don’t think… there… was a day… she… didn’t cry.”

“What? Did she look silly?” skekGra squawked, frantically placing down ingredients and tools he knew urGoh would need.

“Indeed… her ears… hung… freely,” he chuckled, peeling the skin from vegetables, “urMa… did… what he could… to keep… urSol’s teasing… at bay. And… the poor Master… felt terrible… and… responsible.”

“Well, you can rest assured that I will _always_ be around to tease you,” skekGra chuckled, leaning over to nuzzle into urGoh’s hair, “and your ears.”

He sputtered when a raw peeled potato was crammed into his beak.

Once the food was ready, urGoh poured skekGra’s portion for him, for he knew the skeksis would eat whatever was in front of him but would neglect to fix himself enough food to begin with. They sat together, sharing more stories of their youth before they converged. Admittedly, there weren’t many times from the castle that skekGra actually _wanted_ to remember, but the mystic’s calming presence brought only good memories forth in his mind.

“Oh, skekLi knew just how to push everyone’s buttons – and what speed he had! Why, he could even outrun the Hunter after prodding at the beast!” skekGra squawked, urGoh reminding him gently to swallow his food first before continuing.

skekGra ended up eating three entire bowls, his belly filling out his loose skin as he sighed happily. urGoh chuckled as he looked upon the satisfied bundle of fluffed out feathers, “I’m glad… I know… the… way to… a skeksis’… heart.”

“Hah! You know the way to _one_ skeksis’ heart – and it’ll stay that way!” he screeched happily, hopping out of his seat to help with dishes.

urGoh walked into the bedroom to see skekGra – who had bolted ahead of him – already burrowed deeply into their covers. No features were visible, save for the giant, writhing mound ruminating in the warmth and softness. urGoh chuckled, moving to his side of the bed and getting in. The skeksis released a squeak as he was enveloped in even more warmth, strong hands wrapping around his chest and hips, pulling him against a soft belly. urGoh’s sighed heavily against skekGra’s neck, and his thick tail curled around a spindly leg.

“You know I always sweat when I’m little spoon,” skekGra griped, making no move to counteract his position however.

“Yet… you go… to sleep… faster,” urGoh mumbled, snuggling underneath the crook of skekGra’s neck.

“Oh, so _that’s_ what you’re after? If you want me to fall asleep so quickly, I know a way to relax even _further_,” skekGra cooed suggestively, pushing and wiggling his bottom out between urGoh’s spread legs. A large hand clamped around his beak, snapping it shut, and the legs around his hips tightened to cease his movement.

“_No_… that… would be… rewarding… bad… behavior,” urGoh mumbled bluntly.

skekGra ripped the hand off of his beak, “ha! Then maybe you should _punish_ me!”

“I _will_,” urGoh said, dark and low, craning his neck up to meet skekGra’s eye. Excitement radiated off of the skeksis below him with wicked smile and lidded eyes.

“… when we… wake up,” he said sweetly, plopping his head back down onto a pillow.

“_WHAT_!”

After a short wrestling match – which urGoh won by a landslide – and a wiggling tantrum, the sleep deprived skeksis finally wore himself out, but still murmured his weak protest.

“You… are so… persistent,” urGoh chuckled, snuggling up to him, “are you… going… to pout… even… in your… dreams?”

“No,” skekGra laid limp, too tired to even return the affection, so he absorbed it, “you are the only one the Heretic will yield to, Wanderer.”

“Then… may it… stay… that way,” urGoh chuckled.

"...you need... to take... better... care... of yourself," urGoh said quietly after a while, hugging skekGra tighter to his chest, "not only... for... yourself... but... for us."

"I know," came skekGra's sleep-laden voice, "and I do not want to burden you when I let myself go."

"You are... _never..._ a burden," urGoh said firmly, squeezing the skeksis, "I will... always... be here... with you."

skekGra chuckled, "and I with you, urGoh. I love you, dear."

"I love... you... too."

The two dozed off together – skekGra grinding his beak in his sleep, urGoh snoring and drooling a storm – in their comforting, safe, special embrace.


	2. Update + Art

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Update for you guys!! <:)

Hey everyone! I just wanted to give an update because it's been a while! (I'm sorry for those of you who thought this was a second chapter :,o but there's fanart!!)  
Classes have been hard, and I wasn't able to get much done this break - but I am still finding time to write (and draw)! The new chapter of A Fate of Their Own is in the works, I promise!! That fic is my main focus right now. As for this fic, I can always write more if you guys want me to! :)  
In the meantime, I thought I would give you guys my Twitter if you'd like to follow me on another platfrom and see my actual art! (it IS a public/semi-sfw account though, so if I don't openly interact with you I'm sorry!! My irl friends follow me and it would be embarassing!!)  
https://twitter.com/lovehaleylo

In the future, hopefully I can get around to a second Twitter or Tumblr to fully invest myself in a fandom, like I can on here - and I'll update again if I do!

But anyway!! I drew art for the first chapter, here it is!! :)

[](https://www.flickr.com/photos/185322607@N03/49005137806/in/dateposted-public/)   
[](https://www.flickr.com/photos/185322607@N03/49004599463/in/dateposted-public/)   
[](https://www.flickr.com/photos/185322607@N03/49005140926/in/dateposted-public/)   
[](https://www.flickr.com/photos/185322607@N03/49005141446/in/dateposted-public/)

(that's urIm pulling on urSol's ear - I don't know what urMa looked like! There's no picture of him!!)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay tuned for more and have a good day!!


End file.
